TALK ‘N TEXT rode on rookie Troy Rosario in the final minutes to turn back Chinese Taipei, 99-91, to grab its first win in the MVP Cup invitational tournament on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Rosario, the No. 2 overall pick in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie Draft, had seven of his 19 points in the crucial stretch for the Tropang Texters to pull away from a tight contest.
The former National University center also grabbed nine rebounds and shot nine-of-14 from the field for Talk ‘N Text, which lost its opening game to Gilas Pilipinas, 77-93, on Friday night.
Top rookie Moala Tautuaa paced the Tropang Texters with 20 points and 13 rebounds, Danny Seigle added 19, while Denok Miranda chipped in 11.
Liu Chen led the Taiwanese with 24 points while big man Tien Lei added 19. Tsai Wen-Cheng contributed 16 markers for the visiting team, which absorbed an 80-108 loss to Wellington Saints of New Zealand.
With the loss, Chinese Taipei dropped to 0-2 and is now already out in the running for the MVP Cup crown. The Taiwanese will face the PHL 5 on Sunday.
Taiwan was ahead 82-80 when Rosario completed a three-point play that sparked a 17-5 exchange capped by Larry Fonacier’s three-pointer to take the game for good, 97-87, 29.5 seconds left in the game.
